York Gulch Ranch

Listing Price: $2,500,000

Located just a stone’s throw from Montana’s famous Big Hole River off Highway 43, the York Gulch Ranch is located in the heart of the Big Hole Valley. Known for trophy trout fishing, incredible elk hunting and millions of acres of National Forest and wilderness areas, the Big Hole Valley provides seemingly endless year-round recreation. The York Gulch Ranch is set between two of the valley’s most well-known small ranching communities, Wise River and Wisdom. Key amenities such as hospitals and commercial air service are located one hour away in Butte, Montana. The Butte airport offers daily commercial flights through Delta and Alaska Airlines.

The York Gulch Ranch is comprised of approximately 1,512 acres. Of this total acreage, 1,472 are deeded acres and 40 are BLM Lease. The ranch consists of roughly 330 irrigated acres suitable for wild hay and/or grazing pasture. The balance of the land is comprised of rolling mountain pastures, sub-irrigated creek bottoms and high alpine meadows. The dense forest acreage bordering National Forest is essential to maintain the privacy and protection of the amazing big game numbers found on the ranch and adjacent public lands.

The York Gulch Ranch lies just across a county road from Montana’s famous Big Hole River and is accessible through a piece of BLM land bordering the property. This damless, free-stone river offers unparalleled diversity throughout its 100-mile length.

Currently fishing onsite is developable; the York Gulch offers a number of opportunities for an incoming owner to use the water components to create trout habitat. With recently installed head-gates on the York Gulch in the National Forest just beyond the property’s boundary, this upgrade will make better use of the water diverted onto the property through the associated water rights. The current ranch owners are finalizing the design of a pond, scheduled to go in spring of 2008, stocked with the pure strain of the cutthroat.

Located in the heart of Montana’s trophy trout waters, the York Gulch provides the avid angler a number of opportunities to search for that fish of a lifetime on a number of sought-after fisheries. These rivers include the Madison, Jefferson, Ruby, and Beaverhead Rivers, all easily accessible as a day trip from the ranch with the Beaverhead being the closest.

The ranch is bordered on three sides by Beaverhead-Deer Lodge National Forest, Montana State Lands and BLM lands. Year round, one can expect to see a number of deer, elk, moose and antelope on the ranch. According to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, approximately 1,500 head of elk and 1,000 Mule deer reside in the public lands north of Highway 43 during the summer and fall months. To further compliment this variety of wildlife on the ranch, the Big Hole River’s constant water source provides a natural migratory route for waterfowl.

There is currently a well-kept log ranch house on the property, which could serve as a temporary residence, guest house, caretaker or ranch manager’s cabin. This ranch headquarter is complimented by a large horse barn and a series of well-maintained corrals with excellent horse pasture surrounding this compound. In addition to the existing improvements, the York Gulch provides a number of choice homesites to build a dream home and owner’s compound.

Due to the eco-sensitive nature of the ranch, the York Gulch could provide substantial tax benefits to an incoming owner through the placement of a conservation easement on the property.